


Resolute

by spiteandmalice



Category: Peter Rabbit (2018), This Is Where I Leave You (2014)
Genre: Alcohol, Crossover, F/M, Kylux Adjacent Ship, M/M, Multi, Phillip Altman is my favourite fuckboi, Threesome, kylux adjacent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 14:26:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18662206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiteandmalice/pseuds/spiteandmalice
Summary: Philip’s trying to become an actual responsible adult. But first, he’s going on vacation.





	Resolute

 

It’s getting dark on the 30th of December when Phillip arrives in town. His GPS is chirping for him to turn left where there’s clearly no turning, just a large fence panel dusted in the light snow that’s falling, when he spots the shop. There are a dozen beautifully illustrated pictures of rabbits in the window, illuminated softly by the glow from the shop. He’s aware he’s forgotten to send Christmas presents to any of his nieces or nephews, and hey, maybe it’s a sign. Maybe they can give him directions.

He pulls the car over and approaches the shop. As he’s about to open the door the sign is flipped to “CLOSED” by a disembodied hand.

Phillip knocks loudly.

“We’re closed!” a man’s voice shouts.

Phillip knocks louder.

“I said, we’re closed!” the voice repeats, louder this time.

Phillip knocks a third time.

The door is opened and there’s a beautiful woman standing there, backlit by the shop.

“Can I help you?” she asks.

Phillip scrubs a hand through his hair.

“Uh, yeah, I wanted to buy some of those rabbit pictures please.”

She beams at him suddenly, her whole face lighting up.

“Those are mine! Yes, please, come in! Sorry, it’s been a long day, I’m tired.”

She steps away from the entrance to let Phillip come in. The shop inside is nothing like he would have expected, it’s got perfectly balanced pyramids of puzzle boxes, technicolour rows of stuffed animals, delicate wooden aeroplanes that hang from the ceiling. It looks like a child’s paradise.

The woman walks past the counter and Phillip finally sees the man who had shouted at him through the door. He’s sitting on the stool behind the counter with his arms crossed over his chest and he’s scowling at Phillip. Phillip thinks he’s adorable.

“I told him we were closed, Bea.”

The woman, Bea, rolls her eyes.

“Thomas, this gentleman wants to buy some of my pictures. I think we can stay open five minutes longer for him hmm?”

Thomas rolls his eyes back at her.

Bea shows him the miniature gallery she has in the back of the shop. Phillip is impressed, she’s captured the mischievous expressions of the creatures as they undertake their adventures. He buys a wide selection, mostly rabbits, but also a fish, a hedgehog and a wise owl that’s blinking sleepily at him from the paper.

Bea brings the pictures to the counter and carefully starts to place them in a strong cardboard frame, interspersed with layers of soft wispy blue paper. Thomas passes her the paper from under the counter, still scowling at Phillip. Phillip smiles at him, loose and easy and Thomas’s scowl deepens. Phillip grins wider at this.

“So are you guys like, siblings, or married or what? Is this a family shop?” He finally asks just to break the silence.

“No we’re not siblings, this is Thomas’s shop. I’ve been helping out with the Christmas holiday rush.” Bea says as she finishes wrapping.

“It’s a lovely shop.”

Thomas’s scowl instantly vanishes and he preens a little.

“Thank you, it’s modelled after the main toy floor of Harrods, with a little old fashioned charm thrown in. More classic toys, less plastic rubbish.”

Bea hands over the pictures and Phillip passes his credit card over to Thomas.

“Are you from around here? Visiting someone for Christmas?” Bea asks.

Phillip shakes his head.

“Just on vacation. I’m supposed to be staying at the Pike bed and breakfast tonight, then I’m on my way south tomorrow. Do you know where the entrance is?”

“Ah.” Both Bea and Thomas say at the same time.

Phillip raises an eyebrow.

“Ah?” he echoes.

Bea winces. “The Pike burnt down last week. Electrical fault.”

She looks across at Thomas who is patiently watching the card receipt print.

“You can stay with us.” she offers.

Thomas’s head jerks up at that and his mouth opens and closes in a manner that reminds Phillip of Bea’s illustration of a pike he’s just bought for Judd’s den.

Phillip shakes his head.

“No no, I couldn’t impose on you like that, thanks anyway, but it’s fine, I’ll just keep driving.”

“Good plan.” Thomas offers.

Bea shoots him a look before turning back to Phillip.

“It’s dark, it’s going to snow again, I’d feel better if I knew you were safe tonight, not out there in the snow by yourself.”

Phillip doesn’t have the heart to tell her he’s used to East Coast weather: multiple feet of snow, wind chill factors 20 below zero. The sprinkling of snow he’s seen so far in England barely even registers as snow to him. But on the other hand, Bea and Thomas are the first people he’s actually talked to properly since he’s left the States, and the offer seems genuine.

“Then I’d be delighted to accept your invitation. Thank you. I’m Phillip by the way, Phillip Altman.”

He extends a hand to Bea who shakes it. He doesn’t let go.

“I’m Bea. This is Thomas McGregor.”

“Enchanté.”

Phillip bows low and places a loud kiss on her hand and she giggles at him. Thomas is frowning at them both and Phillip lets go of Bea to shake Thomas’s hand. He repeats the hand kiss and Bea giggles again and Phillip looks up at Thomas with a raised eyebrow, daring him to say something. All Thomas’s attention is on him now and Phillip feels a little trapped under that gaze which he didn’t expect.

Thomas dislodges his hand from Phillip’s and clears his throat.

“I guess we should head home then.”

Bea starts to pull down the blinds in the windows and shut off the lights and Phillip watches as Thomas’s profile falls into softer light, then shadow.

He takes a deep breath in and holds the door open for Bea and Thomas to pass him. He wishes he had a sweater on, it’s gotten quite cold since darkness fell. Thomas smells like expensive cologne and Bea like sweetpea and vanilla. He exhales slowly into the night air as Thomas locks the door.

Phillip tells himself he’s going to be a good boy, he’ll stay in their house, be a polite guest and then leave in the morning. That’s all.

‘Being better’, whatever that even means, is his resolution for next year. He’s going to go back to therapy, spend more time with his sister and help out with her kids, stop being a dick to Paul just because he can. He’ll visit his mother and be a good brother. Remember to pay his taxes on time. Maybe stop smoking. He’ll attempt to be an actual proper adult for the first time. Bleugh.

He follows them in his car through the twisting countryside lanes until they reach a house. It’s thankfully warm inside, despite the size and age of the house. Thomas vanishes somewhere and Bea shows Phillip to his room.

It’s slightly musty, with old fashioned floral sheets, she twists the radiator valve and it starts clanging.

“Sorry, it’s a little chilly right now. We don’t really have visitors in here. Apart from the animals of course.”

Phillip’s not quite sure what to say to that. Animals? Like, plural? He looks around, half expecting a fox to be sitting on the bed, maybe a rabbit on the pillow.

Bea fluffs the pillows and pats them down.

“I’ll leave you to get unpacked. We’re just having leftovers but they should be ready in ten minutes if you want to come down and eat with us.”

____________

Dinner is lasagna, garlic bread and plenty of fruit wine. Maybe Phillip is hungry, maybe it’s having home cooked food for the first time in a week but it’s delicious and he tells them that.

Turns out the sauce is from tomatoes from Thomas’s greenhouse, the wine from berries he’s grown himself. Phillip toasts him with his glass of wine.

“The only plant I ever kept alive was weed, so congratulations. It’s a real talent.”

Thomas blinks a little at the weed comment but smiles for the first time at him at the praise, a soft and sweet thing lighting his face and Phillip suddenly wants to praise him again. Or make him blush. He ignores that feeling and takes another swig of the wine.

Bea picks up another piece of garlic bread and turns to Phillip.

“Where are you heading to next?”

Phillip shrugs.

“Liverpool maybe? My dad loved the Beatles. He uh, he died this summer.”

Bea makes a sympathetic face, pats him on the arm.

Phillip waves his hand about, sloshing his wine onto the table and notes the brief look of disgust that crosses Thomas’s face at that. He needs to stop sneaking looks at Thomas.

“It’s fine. He was sick for a while. He’s out of pain. But I had to spend a week with my family because of the funeral and that was...an experience. One of my brothers ran off to Maine so I thought I’d do him one better and cross the Atlantic.”

Thomas raises an eyebrow.

“And you’ve ended up in our little town?”

Phillip pours some more wine into his glass and tops up Bea’s too.

“Life’s funny like that Thomas. You don’t always end up where you think you will. Best laid plans and all.”

____________

Turns out fruit wine is pretty damn strong. They’re attempting to play charades and it seems there’s confusion over rules. Phillip’s attempting to convey ‘Titanic’ without any success so he gives up and flops onto the couch between them. It’s a very tight fit and he can feel the line of tension down his side from where Thomas is pressed against him. There’s another couch across the room but he likes this one more. It’s cosy. Intimate.

He snags Thomas’s wine glass from his hand and takes a gulp. Thomas hasn’t been drinking as much as him and Bea and well, it’s going to waste. Phillip wonders what it’d take to loosen him up.

“Zero points to Team Altman. You’re up next Thomas.”

Bea cheers as Thomas stands and reluctantly starts to mime a film reel.

Bea leans over Phillip to grab her own wine glass from the table and completely misses, hand grabbing on empty air. The glass Phillip is holding tips over his shirt and down his left arm.

“Shit, shit, shit sorry Bea, that was my fault, I was in the way.”

Bea’s attempting to use the cushion to mop wine from him when Phillip decides it’s easier to just take his shirt off and use that. Whoops, his t-shirt came off too.

Thomas’s hands freeze in mid-air in the middle of miming.

Phillip wipes the wine off his arm with his shirt, drops it on the floor and then casually sits back on the couch stretching an arm out behind Bea. He passes Bea her glass.

“Three words, first word is ‘the’?”

____________

Thomas wins charades because he’s the only one not completely sloshed. He builds the fire in the fireplace back up because Bea chides Phillip that he’d be cold without a shirt, but no one tells him to put it back on. Huh. One point to Team Altman after all.

The room is very warm, lit by two low lamps and all three are sprawled on the couch that’s definitely only meant for two. They’ve had some sloe gin when Phillip mentioned he’d never had it and the deep rose of the alcohol clings to Thomas’s lips and Phillip really, really wants to kiss him.

Phillip doesn’t kiss men. And he certainly doesn’t kiss men like Thomas. He’s fucked guys in the showers at the gym; built, powerful men who pressed him against the tile. He’s had pretty twinks go on their knees for him in dirty bathrooms after meeting their eyes across a bar. He’s never had this, a prim toy shop owner who blushes when discussing the length of his runner beans, who tries not to laugh at Phillip’s bad jokes.

Phillip also doesn’t touch women like Bea, bright shining stars who pull everyone into their orbit, whether or not they are worthy. Phillip knows he’s not worthy, he’s been told that half a dozen times this year alone, he can own that fact that he’s a roguish slut on the best days and a childish manwhore on the worst.

Bea is sunshine and the scent of flowers in the meadow and the curve of pea flowers creeping up the perfect white picket fence.

Thomas is the cool, deep undergrowth in the forest and the crush and prickle of pine needles under your fingers.

Fuck. Fuck.

_Fuck._

Phillip thinks, no, Phillip _knows_ he’s in over his head.

____________

At about 2am the fire has died and Bea is snoring softly into Thomas’s shoulder. Phillip needs to find his shirt, he needs to have a cigarette before bed. Thomas watches him in the soft light as he crosses the room and rises to join him, picking up glasses from the floor.

He shows Phillip out to the back garden and stands shivering in the crisp air as Phillip smokes. Everything looks ghostly and silver in the moonlight; Thomas’s garden looks like something out of a storybook, surrounded by low stone wall and perfect little fence. It’s exactly as Phillip imagined it’d be.

“Bea had a lot of fun tonight. Thank you.”

Phillip takes a drag.

“I had fun too. What about you Thomas?”

Thomas inclines his head.

“I suppose I had fun too.”

Phillip exhales slowly, and Thomas is watching the smoke leave his lips.

“Good. Glad to hear. I aim to please.”

Thomas smiles at him, wide and generous and Phillip has to resist the urge to pull him close.

____________

It’s 10am before Bea and Thomas appear. Phillip is cooking the breakfast he only makes when he’s trying to impress someone: Eggs Benedict, though there are no English muffins, just a loaf he’s sliced roughly for toast. He’s whistling to himself, the world outside still dusted in frost and he’s feeling good as he squeezes the lemon juice into the hollandaise sauce.

Thomas starts the grill to toast the bread and Bea gets down the tea leaves. They move around the kitchen in sync, like they do this every day and Phillip stands still at the hob, feeling suddenly out of place. An imposter.

Bea leans up and kisses him on the cheek.

“This looks wonderful Phillip! Thank you.”

Thomas is watching them carefully as he takes the milk from the fridge.

Phillip leans in and pecks Bea’s cheek back, meeting Thomas’s eyes.

“I’m gonna wash up after breakfast and hit the road-” Phillip starts, spooning hollandaise over the eggs.

Both Bea and Thomas protest at the same time.

“It’ll be New Year-”

“Please-”

“It could snow again-”

“It’s no trouble having you here-”

He agrees to stay. One more night.

____________

He also agrees to let Bea paint him.

She tells him to get comfortable while she squeezes out different colours onto a palette. When she looks up he’s taken his shirt off again. She looks like she’s about to protest, but then simply squeezes out more of the skin tone shade she’s chosen.

Thomas hovers around them, offering tea and biscuits and clearly sneaking looks at Phillip when he thinks Phillip isn’t looking.

After lunch they go for a walk, the frost of the morning has evaporated and the sky is blue. He’s wearing a scarf Thomas had pressed into his hands, and it smells like Thomas’s hair did last night on the couch.

Bea points out different landmarks as they walk; the oak tree that’s been there 300 years, the warren her rabbits live in, the raspberry canes that gave the berries for their wine.

There’s a little brook to cross with a few rocks that could be used as stepping stones but they’re currently underwater due to the snow melt raising the water level.

Bea looks a little sad.

“I was going to show you the forest but it looks like we can’t get across today.”

She turns to head back towards the house and Phillip gets a stupid idea into his head.  

He steps into the stream, balancing on the submerged rocks and reaches a hand out to Bea. Fuck, the water is icy, but hey, he’s in now. He gestures ‘come here’ to her and she goes. He gently places his hands around her waist, lifts her and spins her so she goes from one bank of the brook to the other with a shriek of laughter.

He reaches out to Thomas. Thomas hesitantly gives him his hand and he does the same. Thomas is as tall as Phillip is but lean, like a sapling. Phillip says this out loud just to see Thomas’s face at the comment and Bea cackles and takes both Phillip’s and Thomas’s hands to tug them towards the forest.

____________

Phillip’s convinced he’s going to get frostbite and lose his toes but Bea runs him a hot bath when they get back.

He’s just enjoying the sensation of being able to feel his feet again when the door to the bathroom opens and Thomas walks in.

“Oh, I didn’t realise-”

Phillip splashes his hand about in a universal ‘don’t worry about it gesture’.

Thomas pauses and looks down. Phillip is suddenly aware there’s no bubbles in this bath, nothing to hide behind. He’s a bit tired, still a little cold and tomorrow is the start of a new year. He can be virtuous and good then. Maybe.

He stands up.

“Can you pass me a towel please Thomas?”

Thomas passes the towel over without looking away from Phillip’s body.

Phillip wraps the towel around himself and the spell is broken and Thomas flees the bathroom.

Yeah, Phillip can work with this. Being a better person can wait until tomorrow.

____________

Dinner is cottage pie and steamed vegetables, and more fruit wine. They retire to the living room after dinner, all three on the same couch again, pressed together.

Bea produces bottles of prosecco and declares they need cocktails to ring in the new year. Phillip’s pretty sure prosecco and sloe gin mixed isn’t really a cocktail but it goes down easily, sweet and bubbly on his tongue.  

They decide on card games, and Phillip lets them win a few hands each. He’s going to up the stakes. It’s 10pm, there’s time to kill before they watch the new year fireworks on TV.

“Maybe we should play strip poker?” he says with fake casualness.

Thomas sniffs.

“That’s rather American.”

Phillip rolls his eyes.

“Congratulations Thomas! You found out I’m American. C’mon, it’ll be fun.”

An hour later Phillip’s willingly sacrificed everything but his boxers and left sock. Bea was annoyed her dress counted as one item but was pacified with more prosecco.

Thomas….Thomas is sitting serenely across from them with a cushion the only thing preventing him from being totally exposed. It’s a good look, the flush from the alcohol has spread down his chest leaving him rosy in the firelight.

Bea leans against Phillip and he swallows hard at the press of that much of her skin against his. He’s pretty sure he knows where this is going, but this isn’t a wild party, he’s in their home. He’ll wait and see. That’d be the responsible adult thing to do.

“Let’s play a new game. Truth or dare. I’ll go first. Phillip: truth or dare?” Bea suggests somewhere near his elbow.

“Truth.”

She makes a humming noise, thinking.

“Have you a girlfriend?”

He shakes his head.

“Boyfriend?”

“Not at the moment.”

Bea and Thomas exchange a glance Phillip’s pretty sure was meant to be sneaky.

“Truth or dare Bea?”

“Dare.”

“Kiss Thomas.”

She frowns like she expected something much more exciting. She leans over and kisses Thomas. It’s not a short kiss, and it gets a little bit messy, Phillip can see tongue and Thomas groans into her mouth.

She breaks off to turn back to Phillip.

“Truth or dare Ph-.”

Thomas interrupts: “Excuse me, I think it’s my turn. Truth or dare Phillip.”

Phillip grins, all teeth.

“Dare.”

“Kiss Bea.”

Phillip was expecting this, but not expecting Bea to launch herself at him. He settles her in his lap and then she’s kissing him. He’s painfully aware he’s semi-hard from watching their kiss, pretty much naked and Bea’s only got a few scraps of lace underwear on. Even with his eyes closed he’s aware Thomas is watching them like a hawk. He experimentally moans into Bea’s mouth, which seems to encourage her to shift on his lap.

Bea pulls away eventually, pushing Phillip’s hair back behind his ears. He’s fully hard now, and she must have noticed but she remains in his lap. Thomas’s hands flex and tighten where he holds his cushion tightly, watching them.

“Truth or dare Bea.” Philip murmurs against her mouth.

“Truth” she whispers.

“Did you discuss this? Me?”

“Yes.”

It’s not Bea who answers though, but Thomas who’s suddenly very close and yup, very naked, cushion left behind.

Bea’s nodding in agreement as Thomas’s hand snakes behind her to unclasp her bra.

Phillip leans over to kiss Thomas. His lips are sticky from sloe gin and any hesitation Phillip expected isn’t there, Thomas seems to know what he wants.

What he wants is to pull the couch blanket onto the floor and fuck right there in front of the fire. Phillip can’t say no. He’s easy like that. It’s a character flaw.

Bea goes to get supplies while Phillip does his best to take Thomas apart. She walks in just as Thomas is coming hard down Phillip’s throat.

She wordlessly passes the lube to Phillip with a wicked smile and he grins back at her. Thomas is blinking up at her, still lost in pleasure and she kisses him as Phillip stretches him open. Thomas moans so beautifully while Phillip is inside him Phillip’s not sure he’s going to last.

Bea’s watching from beside the fireplace, fingers making slick little noises, teasing herself while they fuck. Phillip’s orgasm hits him suddenly, thrusting into Thomas hard enough they both shift across the floor and a small part of Phillip’s brain is dimly apologetic about carpet burn while the rest whites out in pleasure. He reaches down to get Thomas off again when Bea crawls over to them and bats his hand away.

He withdraws slowly, Thomas looks wild, neat hair askew, lips swollen, body flushed. Bea straddles Thomas and sinks down and they gasp in unison.

Thomas looks wrecked so Phillip leans over and holds Bea’s hips, lifting her up and down, both of them using Thomas’s body for her pleasure. She comes soon after, eyes scrunched shut.

Thomas stays on the floor panting so Bea lies down next to him while Phillip runs a hand down Thomas’s left side, soothing him as Bea does the same on the right.

There’s a distant chime of church bells ringing in midnight.

“Well. That’s one way to start the new year.” Thomas remarks.

Bea laughs and Phillip grins down at them both. They’re beautiful. Tonight, they’re his.

Thomas is still hard and Phillip kneels down and sucks him off again. He tastes like Bea now and Phillip swallows around him and Thomas comes with a low groan like it was too much for him to take.

Bea stretches out in front of the fireplace, like a cat. She’s got her hand between her legs again and Phillip is definitely ready for another round. She plucks a navy strap-on from behind the couch and Thomas is looking between Phillip and her with interest.

Huh. He didn’t expect that.

Maybe he’ll stay a few days longer. He can start being good in February after all.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for public consumption in a very long time so feel free to provide tips, just be kind! :) 
> 
> You can find me @spiteandmalice on Twitter!


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